“I have learned that the literature of North Carolina writers is rich and varied, providing us insight into not only individual experiences with illness and disability, but offering a larger perspective on the diverse experiences of people in the South.”
Saturday Review Rerun: Lee Smith’s last novel, Blue Marlin, was reviewed by Barbara Bennett in NCLR Online 2021. Bennett calls Blue Marlin a classic “tale of initiation” of teen Jenny, loosely based on Smith’s own childhood adventure to Key West.
Friday from the Archives: “Omar ibn Sayid: An Arabic Scholar/Slave in Nineteenth-Century Carolina” by Patricia Gantt from NCLR 1993
Charles Frazier’s latest novel, The Trackers, is out now and we look forward to reading it for a review in the fall issue. Frazier’s work is no stranger in NCLR pages; his last novel, Varina, was reviewed by Terry Roberts in our 2019 Online issue.
Announcing the winners and finalists of the 2023 Albright Creative Nonfiction Prize
Friday from the Archives: “There’s Always A Story To Tell: Creating Tradition on the Qualla Boundary” by Karen McKinney from NCLR Issue 13 (2004) “What emerges is an example of Cherokee literature that is as traditional as the story of Selu’s gift of corn but unashamedly a product of the late twentieth century.”
In this review by Robert West from 2021, he says about Flynn’s last book, The Skin of Meaning: “In other words, if you’re looking for neoclassical argument, dry stand-up comedy, or inspirational pablum, look elsewhere.”
Friday From The Archives: “Big Fish: The Myth and the Man” by Barbara Bennett from NCLR 2019 Online
Authors glean inspiration for their stories from all kinds of places. In Daniel Wallace’s latest, the memoir This Isn’t Going To End Well, his inspiration is his late brother-in-law. In this piece from 2019, Barbara Bennett takes us down a different road, seeing where mythology and storytelling served as inspiration for Wallace’s first novel, Big Fish.
So it’s fitting that Coby starts his review with “Michael Parker is a master at forming engaging, thought-provoking, and all around remarkable characters.”
Friday from the Archives: “Freedom and Power: A Talk with Zelda Lockhart” by Sara Whitestone from NCLR Issue 21 (2012) “We don’t know who might need our creations. We don’t know who needs them for food, for medicine, or for kinship.”